@fbailey oh yes I certainly can - I use nose pattern recognition to identify each individula. however, those that are part of the colony I can usually identify from a distance fairly easily as they are all the same yet very different to each other.
You can see that Dewdrop here has a rather precise pattern on the front of her nose where there is no pigment. Some of course have more distinct patterns than others, but it is how I always confirm that I have a new koala - by comparing the nose to my file of every koala I've seen on the property before :)
(in case you wonder, yes that can be tedious, but the difficulty can be in getting a clear shot of the nose of a new and nervous koala to compare!) Thanks for asking!
@fbailey - indeed nose printing :) I'm not sure if you have read here already that koalas are the only non-primate that have unique fingerprints? but of course it's balancing the ink tray while climbing a tree that makes identifying them this way a little tricky, so I'll stick to noses ;)
You can see that Dewdrop here has a rather precise pattern on the front of her nose where there is no pigment. Some of course have more distinct patterns than others, but it is how I always confirm that I have a new koala - by comparing the nose to my file of every koala I've seen on the property before :)
(in case you wonder, yes that can be tedious, but the difficulty can be in getting a clear shot of the nose of a new and nervous koala to compare!) Thanks for asking!